Voices In The Street

by Maureen Reynolds

Born in Dundee in 1938, Maureen Reynolds grew up in wartime Scotland, a young girl surrounded by adult concerns and as she came of age, a whole generation seemed to suddenly do the same, with the rise of the Teddy Boy and rock'n'roll.

421 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2008

Reviews

[Lylia Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Voices In The Street

Wow. What a read reminding me of old places and factories in Dundee. Also women with their curlers and days of harder times . And omg granny sookers . Loved them.

[James Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this lying around at my mother home and feel great pity that she never read this as I am sure that she would have recognised so many elements of the book. I assumed I was going to experience only some nostalgic tale however, I was quite surprised by the quality of the text. The author has a good eye for detail, a great memory but also write very well. She was also fortunate to live through a period of great change in Dundee with the removal of people (and the buildings) from the old poorly equipped tenements out to the housing schemes with better facilities on the peripheries of the city and also to have been a generation who could recall seeing the old medieval centre of Dundee (before the bulldozers moved in). As one of those who was born too late to have seen and appreciated its historical past, one should always feel grateful to those like the author who took the time to put her story in print to the benefit of others.

[Dave Nicoll]

An intriguing look into Dundee's history since the early 1940s, during war rationing and children trying to grow in such an atmosphere.
Places mentioned still stand, but for different purposes nowadays. Draffens, The City Arcade, to name but two buildings.

Dundee faced rationing as much as every town in Scotland, and children mentioned in the story seemed to cope as best they could in these circumstances.

Maureen tells of losing two friends under different circumstances, then losing a baby when she was 20. There is the search for a perfect house for her family when her husband returns from doing his National Service. I believe the house no longer stands.

I am certainly looking forward to reading the other books she released regarding Dundee and how children, and adults, grew during, and after, the two world wars.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an extremely enjoyable read. Maureen Reynolds is so good at drawing pictures with her verbal artistry. It brought back memories when I lived in Scotland and was a toddler in the 50's. The trials and tribulations of people trying to get through each day with so little before the war and even worse after the war. Lots of emotions in this story excellent character structure of each person involved in this journey.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had visited Dundee in 2013, so was interested to read Maureen Reynolds' memoir about growing up there during World War II and after. Her description of the hardship that she and others suffered during the war was shocking, especially for Americans who didn't experience bombings in their country. She's an excellent writer, and brought those experiences to life for me.

[Kazimiera pendrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really loved reading this book it was a bit slow to star with but after the first few chapters i found it almost impossible to put down i would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical memoirs

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good especially for locals in Dundee - Chris Mitchell in Wallace's Tearoom in Castle Street gets a mention (a neighbour of ours in Cleghorn Street).